


Breathe

by AlToHi



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-25 09:41:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18258725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlToHi/pseuds/AlToHi
Summary: Hours into the Raccoon City outbreak and trying to survive it, Leon tries to get reader to recover from the chaos.





	1. Chapter 1

With a heavy grunt, your body tilts to the side as your balance momentarily tips over. Thankfully, you manage to shift your gravity back to the center of your feet  when you push the last wooden shelf barricading the rest of the motel lobby out of the way, comforted by the fact that your back was covered. 

Even with that sense of security though, your heartbeat still turns erratic with fear - your eyes wasting no time darting forward to scan if your vicinity was clear from those  _creatures_  - creatures that were swarming every corner you went; you’d think they came from the bottom pits of hell. 

The undead - as  _impossible_ as it sounds, were roaming the earth and wreaking havoc upon the living. It was surreal, like a nightmare come to life in all its vivid horror, but you couldn’t wake up from it no matter how hard you tried.

You’ve been running around the city with a rookie cop for a couple of hours now, but it felt like eternity since you’ve last seen civilization not hanging by a thread. You were dead tired, close to passing out you thought, but seeing all that you had tonight - you didn’t think it would be possible to sleep a wink. 

Never-ending streams of blood darker than rubies, mangled bodies, groans of the living turning into the dead, blood-curdling screams, the deafening sound of gunshots, and  _those creatures_  - they were burned at the back of your head, branded by it, your thoughts replaying every scene of this night as if it was the only memory it knew. 

No one that you’ve met in this frenzy had any idea why this was happening - and most of them were never going to. Marvin, Elliot, Sheriff Daniel - officers you’ve met so briefly - they were never going to see another light of day.

Your face immediately stings at the thought and you close your eyes, your heart feeling like it could crack. Out of all the moments you’ve had tonight, this might be one of the hardest your guilt was hitting you. 

You couldn’t get it out of your head -  _if only_  you came sooner, you could’ve saved them.

“(Y/N), hey, everything alright?” Leon Kennedy, the rookie cop, breaks your reverie from behind you. His footsteps were a little loud as they crunched beneath fallen glass and debris but his voice was the total opposite, it was gentle and soft. 

With your heart feeling tender, you felt like you could cry. You don’t though, so you try to rub at your eyes as inconspicuously as you can to remove the moisture in them. 

Apocalypse or not, you weren’t going to break down in front of a total stranger, or anyone for that matter. You weren’t the type, you never have been and with the situation at hand, you never will be.

“Yeah, we’re clear.” You answer a little too timidly. 

Nevertheless, you walk ahead of him again and began your thorough searching, going through the front desk and the reception area to make sure you don’t miss anything you could loot that could be of use for you both. 

You really did need to stock on some items but you knew inside that you wanted to distract yourself. Your mind felt like a dangerous place right now and you needed to be away from it.

“Maybe we should check the rooms?” You quietly suggest to Leon, craning your neck so you could look at him for the first time in almost 15 minutes. You find that his ocean-blue eyes were already on you, focused - they were determined, brave, yet held a softness to them that you’ve come to see was so evident in his personality and character. 

Your stomach faintly churns and you immediately shoot down the sudden feeling, as well as the small wave of warmth washing over your chest. 

He looked hesitant with your recommendation but he had every right to be - the last thing you both needed was a corpse or a hoard of them chasing you in this tight and compact place.

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” He thinks out loud and you agree, scratching that option and deciding it was stupid.

“You’re right, it’s too risky. Let’s keep searching out here then,” You reconcile and both of you go through the corridors. You on the left and him on the right.

Much to your dismay, you almost reach the end of the messy red hallway to find nothing. Your crestfallen state falters a bit though when Leon calls your name.

“(A/N), look!” He muses but still keeping his voice low. You avert your attention from a vitamin bottle peeking out of a fallen suitcase and were debating whether or not to stash it.

“What?” You pipe, hope clinging to your chest that maybe it was another weapon, ammo, or water. Instead, your eyes stretch to the size of dinner plates.

Leon had one hand wrapped around a room’s doorknob, twisting it ever so slightly to show you it was unlocked. You reach out fast to pull his hold away from it.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?” You whisper with haste. He chuckles softly at your banshee state, quick to reassure you. “Nothing’s in there, I promise.” He says.

You blink at him, unable to follow how he came to that conclusion. “How do you know that?” You ask him rhetorically, obviously not convinced. 

He shoots you a boyish yet coy smile, his finger raising up and pointing at an empty slot that used to be a peep hole. He gestures for you to take a look so you do.

As he moves out of the way, you lean into the door and shut the eye that wasn’t looking through the space. The room was scattered with papers and items were strewn all over the place but Leon was right; the room  _was_  empty. Despite that, you didn’t want to get your hopes up just yet. It’s was too dangerous.

You recline from the door, looking back at him still with skeptical eyes. “We can’t be too sure though,” You try to reason with him.

He understands your doubt, he does, but he understood too that you needed a breath from all this, even for a few minutes to just sit and rest. 

He was no fool - he knew that you thought of him as unsuspecting, naive albeit he could be, but he could see through your tough facade. He was a cop after all, he had to learn how to read demeanor in academy but, importantly, he was human too. 

He didn’t doubt your strength though, not at all, but you were afraid, confused, scared and scarred with everything - he was also, but what mattered to him was your well-being. With all that you’ve both been through, your strength wavered and he knew you needed to recompose your bearings.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to convince such a logical mind like yours - hell, he couldn’t definitively say himself that the room was clear but his gut told him so and he just knew it was true. Still, he couldn’t tell you that because, having known you for the past few hours, you’d walk right away from the door.

“Just... trust me, (Y/N).” He simply says. 

Every fiber in your being sang with alert and you practically see red with all the flags raised from that completely illogical explanation but, for some reason - out of all the times you give fate a chance - you confide in it,  _in him_  - a complete stranger. 

This is a death wish being written and all you could do is pray you both weren’t going to be the protagonists of its pages. Maybe it’s the fatigue or maybe it’s what’s left of your naïve hope that was allowing you to nosedive into danger. 

It was crazy, you were crazy - maybe you are going crazy?

Before you had the chance to gather your wits and back out, it was too late - Leon had already opened the door. 

Your breath hitches painfully in your throat as your whole body goes rigid, preparing for your life to flash before your eyes as a flesh-eating monster comes to rip you both to shreds... but nothing comes. 

Subconsciously, you notice Leon exhale unsteadily behind you, deflating with solace. You couldn’t believe it - even  _he_  was unsure.

“We’re safe,” He smiles softly, following the back of your head as you take some cautious steps inside the room. “ _You’re safe_.”

e room. “ _You’re safe_.”


	2. Chapter 2

You were way too invested with the amount of supplies hiding around the room. Your spirit, little-by-little, was rising again as you pick things up and put them in your filthy black backpack. 

So far, you’ve found a baseball bat, a first-aid kit, water bottles, and an unopened pack of protein bars. To think you weren’t even done searching the place! The feeling of astonishment lingers - you were still incredulous with this stroke of luck and it was all thanks to Leon. 

You pause from scanning a book talking about healing herbs and focus your attention on the cop; you could hear his feet shuffling about as he moved around the bathroom, searching for items as well.

You hear a faint creak, drips and splatters, and then Leon in awe. “Whoa,” you hear him verbalize, peaking your interest almost immediately. “(Y/N), come take a look at this,” He calls to you, excitement palpable in his tone. 

You rise up rather quick from your crouched position before dropping the book and a map of Raccoon City in your bag. You walk into the dim-lit blue bathroom with stride, curious eyes searching. Leon’s back faces you but you see clearly what he was looking at. 

A shower, an  _actual_  shower. 

Albeit the water running was a bit weak, it’d get the job done. Your excitement matches his; it’s been just a few hours, maybe around 6 or 7, but it felt like  _years_ since you’ve last bathe and your whole body ached to be under the stream falling in front of you. 

You were covered in grime, mud, blood, guts, and sewer content among many other things - you were caked in it and it was only now that you let yourself pay attention to how filthy you are. You grimaced inwardly, not wanting to dwell on the stench; this was the dirtiest you’ve ever been in your life.

You look over at Leon; his once dry-cleaned navy uniform appeared brown and red from all that you’ve gone through tonight and his soft, gentle face was also streaked with sweat, blood and grime. 

He was as filthy, if not more, than you are.

“Wash up, I’ll wait for you in the bedroom.” He says without a moment’s hesitation. He cocks his head towards the small stall with a kind smile, already turning to give you some privacy. 

With that, you felt your guilt prod you in the back - it felt wrong to clean and refresh yourself while he doesn’t just for the sake of being decent. The way he was towards you since he found you running  in an alleyway was nothing short of selfless; he was so generous and caring and it didn’t sit quite right with you that he kept choosing to be in the losing end of situations just for your benefit.

Biting your lip more from anxiousness than hesitation, you halt him by meekly placing a hand on his arm. Your cheeks blush at the suggestion forming in your mouth. “Leon… I- uh,” you stutter right off the bat. 

You remove your touch from his skin and rub the corner of your right eye despite the absence of an itch, discontinuing your sentence.

Leon is caught off-guard seeing you like this - all flustered and at a loss for words. It was so unlike your usually composed character; it was kind of refreshing to see, he thought to himself - it humanized you more. The sight makes him smile in a confused but genuine way. “Yeah?”

You purse your lips tightly, frustrated with yourself that you couldn’t get your words out. It didn’t help that your nerves were helter-skelter and your body felt like it was under an electric current. 

You were old enough to be mature about situations like this, especially with the one you currently are in. Besides, the last thing that should be boggling your mind are taboos.

“The water’s not going to be around for long,” You start, wishing he could take a hint at where you were trying to get at. With his response, he obviously didn’t.

“Yeah, go ahead,” He reconfirms, chuckling a bit at the redundancy of the conversation. You wanted to huff in annoyance but you don’t, it wasn’t his fault anyway.

“No, I mean-“ You scratch your head, “You can clean up - also. We can…  _both_ … shower.” You manage to finally say amidst your pauses. Your face - at this point- felt like it was on fire. 

As you expected, Leon looks at you with great bewilderment before his cheeks dust with a rosy color, your words registering in his brain and rendering him slightly embarrassed. He didn’t know how to reply to that and he definitely did not know if he was supposed to accept your offer – as tempting as it is.

“I just-“ a sigh, “-who knows when the next opportunity will come? I really don’t mind,” You try to explain yourself with nonchalance, although quite poorly. You don’t honestly know, though, if you really wouldn’t mind him with you, all bare and vulnerable for him to see. 

He hesitates too, weighing your words. 

You were right still, he thought- your lives from now on will probably be so unpredictable that mundane things can be rare; you should both count your blessings and grasp opportunities whenever they come up. 

As if you read his mind, you shoot him a compromised look, “Count your blessings, right?” You shrug, like you were presenting to him a consolation prize.

His slightly coarse, plump bottom lip trap unconsciously between his white teeth in final consideration before he nods his head diffidently. He turns around, “I’ll – uh, let you get undressed,” He clears his throat, his voice growing softer as his heartbeat jumps.

You nod even though he can’t see you; you absolutely  _hate_  how jittery you felt, like you weren’t in control of yourself. You concentrate on breathing and thought for a naïve second that it was helping but you started untying your shoes and your whole body went into chaos again.

You curse under your breath, sheepishly peeling off your clothing until you were left in just your undergarments. 

The cool air of the late evening breezes in through a small window you didn’t notice and raises goosebumps along your arms and legs. You bite the insides of your cheeks, attempting to cover your half-naked, dirty, and bruise-littered body.

You steal a quick glance at Leon to see his shirtless back still working on stripping his outfit before averting your gaze away.

“You can go ahead if you’re –“ He pauses and you can imagine the bashful expression on him, “-if you’re ready.” He finishes. You make an acknowledging sound, your stomach somersaulting as you quickly remove the last of your apparel, leaving you completely bare.

Wanting to hopefully save yourself from being seen where you were most conscious, you hop onto the shower and face the wall; regret floods you immediately though when ice-cold droplets attack your skin. 

You may have yelped a little bit because Leon, as if on instinct, twists to check on you. His worry is replaced by his face burning up at the sight of your body. He quickly turns away, face and ears beet-red.

“Are you okay?” He tries to keep his voice unchanged. 

You chuckle, shy, sorry for startling him. You feel silly as you look down at the grey tiles. “Yeah, sorry – I just didn’t expect the water to be so cold.” You explain. You hear his warm laughter and it makes the corners of your lips grow some more.

With the unconventionality of the situation slowly fading, the tightness in the air between you and Leon begins to disappear as well. Focusing your attention back on your bath, you shut your eyes and steal one long breath before taking one step south and fully submerging yourself under the cold water. 

You gasp quietly at the feeling of it again but worked your way into getting used to it. Despite the temperature, you felt a whole lot better to feel the filth covering you slowly make its way to the drainage.

You watch with a mixture of disgust and fascination the discolored water coming off your body; you wipe down your skin to quicken the process. You were so caught-up with cleaning yourself that you don’t notice Leon had finally joined you.

“Do you want some soap?”

You nearly scream bloody murder; after all the events this night had unfolded, the last thing your poor heart could handle was anything sudden. You whip around, your heart hammering painfully in your chest, fear invading your every sense. 

When your (E/C) eyes meet with Leon’s concerned blues, your panic rises even more. You raise your arms quickly to cross them over your chest.

The perturbed look etched on his gentle face deepens, his hands – even with one holding a small, white bottle of body soap - slightly outstretched with caution to hold you if ever need be. His gaze unintentionally wanders to where your arms were as he was just following where you were moving.

Your soft but wounded body in his sight, he found it hard to look away suddenly.

Scratches of varying lengths scattered on your arms, bruises of different purple hues decorating your stomach and your sides, a small gash on the cavity of your neck where your throat rested, and a red mark on your collarbone that almost took you away. 

Leon goes rigid at the memory, remembering the horror coursing through his veins when he saw a corpse tackling you over. Although he killed the creature right away, he never felt so helpless as he watched it almost sink its teeth in you.

Lieutenant Marvin, Sheriff Daniels, Officer Edward and all those undead bastards wearing the faces of the people he could have worked with suddenly haunts him. He could feel himself grow physically nauseated remembering that he couldn’t save any of them; what was keeping him from actually breaking was the sight of you – eyebrows knit with trouble and right in front of his eyes, breathing and human.

You shift uneasily under his scrutiny. He looked so distraught, you thought, and you wondered idly what he was thinking about.

“What’s in your head?” You find your voice, your question almost a whisper. His sapphire eyes untangle themselves from the stains on your body and up at you, blinking. 

Maybe it was the nature of the situation or the way he looked at you so tenderly that made your heart flutter.

“Hm?” He hums, clearly not paying attention. With a small simper, you repeat yourself. “What’s got you looking all sentimental?”

“Just this crazy night,” He answers, trying to crack a halfhearted smile. The corners of his pink lips fall once more though when his gaze stops again at your collarbone. 

You lift one hand to touch the sore area and you feel you understood now what was going through his mind.

“Leon-“ You start, (E/C) eyes softening when his troubled expression still didn’t ease up. “You saved my life. I’m here right now under this snowstorm of a shower because of you,” You try to joke, gesturing at the spurting shower head in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. You smile when you see him grin a bit.

Exhaling through your nose, you gently lower your arms, baring yourself completely. It was the feeling of being vulnerable to him – physically and, little-by-little, emotionally- that scared you. 

Although you were never the type, Leon was the opposite. He wore his heart on his sleeve and you admired what you saw - a heart made of pure gold. It made you want to confide in him. Even if the world was falling to pieces, it was his valor and morality that made you feel hopeful.

Leon’s breath quietly hitches. 

He tears his gaze away from your skin, of course not wanting to invade, but you assure him by gently reaching out and touching his strong chest. “It’s okay,” You affirm, this time sure of it. 

You gingerly take the bottle of soap from his hold and twist the cap off. The sterile smell of it made you frown – you really don’t know how much something’s worth until the world’s ending.

Leon hasn’t gone under the water yet so he was a step or two away from you. You beckon him forward with your hand and he obliges, closing his eyes and going under the stream. He huffs, probably due to the cold, and you chuckle tenderly. He smiles.

Grabbing your chance, you study the man. He was very attractive – hands down, you noticed that from the get-go – but it was only now that you’re not being chased or hunted that you let yourself see why. 

He was tall and well-built; as far as you’d let yourself wander, even though his body was a canvas of bruises and wounds too, he was defined, probably from all that training back in police academy. 

Trailing your gaze north, you rest at his relaxed expression. Despite having a baby face, he had very strong features – high cheekbones, strong jawline and all. He had long, dark eyelashes that fluttered whenever he blinked or hid his striking blue eyes. 

Indolently, you wonder if you’ve ever seen blue that intense and deep before. It reminds you of the ocean, your favorite place, and just like the ocean, you feel that you could drown in Leon’s gaze when he looks at you.

Watching as the dirt and grime continues to melt from his skin, you notice with great sentiment the light dots of freckles littering the center of his nose and cheeks. You purse your lips to keep from beaming.

When his ocean eyes finally open, he brushes his damp blonde hair out of his face. He catches you with a small grin before you try to play it cool. He smiles with amusement. 

You turn your head from him and fidget with the bottle in your hands, ignoring the warmth creeping its way into your skin in a form of a blush.

Lathering up the soap, you spread it all over yourself, trying to push down the urge to hide from his sight and face the wall again. You hand him the bottle and he takes it from you, doing the same.

“Thanks,” He acknowledges with a kind nod and you return the appreciation. A comfortable kind of silence clouds you both, nothing but the sound of the running water filling the space.

You were just about done and ready to leave the shower when Leon’s voice pulls you back. “(Y/N), wait,” He stops you. Pausing mid-step, you crane your body. A weird expression is on your face to see him looking so nervous all of a sudden. The smile tugging at your lips was unmistakable though.

“Yeah?” You respond, curious and slightly amused. 

He takes a breath before gesturing for you to come back. You oblige without second thought, your heart starting to pick up pace for some odd reason.

“Leon-?” You stop short of your sentence when you feel him move towards you, enveloping you in his broad arms as his lips lightly connect with yours. 

You gasp, your heart spiking in your chest, caught-off guard with his sudden affection. He kisses you ardently, gentle yet urgent, like he’s been craved. He pulls away after a moment – flushed and his eyes bubbling with a mixture of both pride and apology. 

You just blink at him, dazed and unable to muster anything to say. Leon’s small confidence is overshadowed fully by his growing feeling of guilt.

He shouldn’t have done that – he shouldn’t have kissed you. He  _just_ met you for God’s sake, no one does that, but he was drawn to you - that much was clear and true to him. 

He wished he met you sooner – he wished he could have met you at a bookstore or a café, at the fucking groceries or at a rock concert, not at this hellhole where the dead came back to life and ate people, where a grey giant with a hauntingly stoic face lurked at every corner to kill, and blind, skinned creatures with tongues that can cut you in half exists. 

Leon would’ve really liked you, he thought, if your lives intertwined before the pandemonium. You were strong, beautiful, and intelligent. 

It’s stupid now that he thinks about it, but he kissed you because at least if he wasn’t going to make it out of here alive, he’d have done what he’s wanted to do for a while now. 

Seeing you almost taken away, it was scorned in his heart. He cared about you a lot.

“(Y/N), I’m so sorr-“ He begins, to ramble about how he should have thought better, but he was silenced by you closing the distance of your bare and wet bodies together. 

You wrap your arms around his neck and stand on your toes, sealing your mouths with a fervent kiss. It was Leon’s turn to be pleasantly surprised – he quickly eases into it though, melting into your warm embrace. 

You tug softly at the hair on the lower part of his head and he groans at the sensation. He places his hands on your naked waist, the heat of his palms a welcome change from the temperature of the water. 

Tucking your (H/C) hair over your damp shoulder, Leon buries his head in your neck, his fringes tickling your skin as he peppers it with small nips and kisses, trailing downward. 

You bite your lip, closing your eyes at the pleasure rippling in your body. You cup his cheeks, rubbing the pad of your thumb over his light freckles before bringing your lips together once more, moving in perfect sync like you’ve both been doing this for years. 

Breaking away slightly, you lean your head on the bottom of his chin. You take a breath to process all that’s just happened; you were thankful for his hands steadying you because you felt drunk. Your heart was thumping so loud you wonder if he could hear it.

Leon tilts your face up and places a tender kiss on your forehead. You close your eyes, resting your mouth on his collarbone. “Let’s get through this – both of us,” You murmur against his wet skin, your heart renewed with purpose.

He nods sincerely, wanting nothing more than what you just said. He tightens his arms around you. “I’ll make sure.”


End file.
